Feeding device for multiple blade bread slicing machines



- c. H. PETsKEYEs 2,437,124

FEEDING DEVICEy FOR MULTIPLE BLADE BREAD SLICING MACHINES March 2, 1948.

'Filed June 9, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 NVENTOR @Z5/Q65 March 2, 1948. c. H. PETsKEYl-:s 2,437,124

FEEDING lDEVICE FOR MULTIPLE BLADE BREAD SLICING'MACHINES s Sheets-sheet 2 5 4 9 l 9 e n u J d e l .1 F

March 2, 1948. l. c. H. PETskEYEs Y 2,437,124

FEEDING DEVICE FOR MULTIPLE BLADE BREAD SLICING MACHINES .Filed June 9, 1945 3 Sheets-@Sheet 3 1N V EN TOR.

The transfer plate 2l has slots 29' formed therein for the projection of the fingers 28 when the plate 2l is in a horizontal position (see Fig. 2).

Secured to the opposite sides of the hou-sing l are bracket structures 34, the ends of which terminate into suitable bearing structures 35 rotatably supporting a screw shaft 35 having right and left-hand screw threads 31 and 3B respectively, and rotatably held in place by collars 39'. This screw shaft 36 is rotated (Fig. 2) by means of a hand wheel 39.

Movable longitudinally upon the screw shaft 35 are bearing sleeves 45. These bearing sleeves 48 have extending therefrom spaced arms 4l. These arms 4| are bifurcated as at 42 for engagement with a guide vrod 43. This guide rod is supported between the mounting brackets 34, with opposite end portions thereof positioned in the bearing 44 of such mounting brackets.

Depending from the bearing sleeves 45 are supporting arms 45. have their end portions 45 connected as at 48 to guide rails 4l. The forward end portions 49 of these guide rails are pivotally connected as at 5e to guide arms 5l which rest upon the plate 2i and are pivoted therewith to properly guide bread i6 from the belt 22 to the plate 2|. The opposite end portions 52 of these side rails are detachably connected to guide plates 53 by means of slot and bayonet connections 54. These arms 5l function to guide the loaves of bread l5 to the reciprocating knives Il as the loaves of bread move down the chute I3.

In the course of the bread slicing operation These supporting arms 45 by a machine constructed in accordance with the foregoing description, it frequently happens that the bread in its movement toward the knives Il when conveyed down the chute I3, in bearing against the knives Il, has a tendency to buckle or raise upwardly. To prevent this, I provide an adjustable shield 55. This shield is pivotally connected as at 56 to a supporting arm 5? in turn connected as at 58 to a pair of lugs 59. Engaging the end of the shield 55 inwardly from the end portion 60 is a spring 6I that normally tends to pivot the shield 55 against an adjustment screw 62 engaging the outer extremity of the end portion G. By adjusting this screw 62, the pressure of the shield 55 upon the bread as it is passed to the knives may be varied.

The lugs 59 are formed as an integral part of an adjustable bracket 65 slidably carried by a mounting plate B1 secured as at 54 to the housing El. This mounting bracket S5 at its upper end portion provides a lateral extension 68, into which is threaded a screw' shaft 65. VThis threaded shaft 69 passes through a lateralextension iii formed on the plate 5'?, and on opposite sides of this lateral extension 1E) the shaft 69 carries collars 'H which are xed to the shaft 59 as at l2, The upper of these collars 'H is formed as an integral part of a hand wheel 13, By rotating the hand wheel 13, the shaft 65 will be rotated and the plate 63 may be vertically adjusted so as to elevate or lower the shield 55 to compensate for the change in height of the loaves of bread.

As shown in Fig. 1, a pressure plate 14 is provided which bears upon the top surfaces of the loaves of bread i6 as they are conveyed by the belt 22 to the plate 2l. This pressure plate is connected to a shaft T5 supported between brackets 'l5 secured to the structure -23 as at Tl. -Each end of the shaft I5 is journaled in a split bearing 'I8 clamped together by a hand screw 19', the `arrangement being such that the plate 'I4 may be adjusted in a proper position for engagement with the tops of the loaves of bread I6. This plate 'i4 prevents the bread from being forced upwardly or otherwise disturbed from between the guide En' carried by the supporting structure 23,

From the foregoing description, it will be noted that the upward pivotal movement of the transfer plate 2l may result, depending upon the speed with which it is pivoted and the height of the loaf of bread, in the loaf being tilted forwardly or in a rolling position, as ,distinguished from a sliding position, down the chute. If this were to result, it is manifest that the slicing operation of the machine would be greatly interfered with, requiring the operator to manually adjust the tilted or disturbed loaf of bread. To avoid this, I provide an anti-tilting device 'I9 comprising a blocking plate Sil carried by a bifurcated, forklike member 8l (hereinafter referred to as fork), working` against and guided in its movement hereinafter described, by the screw shaft 3l. This fork 8l is provided with a bearing 82, and this bearing 82 carries a pintle pin S3 which operatively connects to a bearing -sleeve 84 by means of a link B5 formed integra-l with the sleeve 84.Y This sleeve 84 is fixed as at 35 to the guide rod 43. The opposite end portions of this rod 43 have Xed thereto, as at 81, retainer collars 83. On one end of the guide rod 43 there is secured as at 85 a bearing 95 having an integral link il! pivotally connected as at 95 to a coupling 93. This coupling S3 has fixed thereto, as at 54, one end cf a connecting rod e5, the opposite end of the rod being connected as at 95 to a coupling 5'?. This coupling 51 is pivotally connected as at 98 to a link 99 having 'abearing 55 Xed as at lill to the rocker shaft The arrangement is such that when the rocker shaft 2l is caused to rock by action of the cam and roller 24 and 25, respectively, the guide rod 42 will be simultaneously rocked therewith, and this rocking movement of the guide rod 43 will impart movement to the fork Si, and by reason of the operative connection between the fork 8| and the guide rod 43, through the medium of the connecting link 55 and with the cooperation of the screw shaft 3'?, the fork is caused to take a substantially rectilinear movement; that is, in a plane substantially at right angles with respect to the plane of the inclined chute i3 and the plane of movement of the loaves of bread down the chute, the result of such movement being a rectilinear, slidable movement from the leading face of the loaf of bread, as distinguished from an arcuate movement in the direction of movement of the loaf of bread. By virtue of this movement, the blocking plate 85 will remain in the path of movement of the loaf of bread sufcently long enough to allow the loaf` of bread to right its position upon the inclined chute for movement therealong as soon as the blocking plate 85 has been moved 'in Vthe manner hereinbefore stated. Where the movement of the blocking plate 86 is through an arcuate line away from the leading face of the loaf of bread, it would result in pern mitting the loaf of bread to continue its tilting or rolling motion down the chute. By the type of movement of the blocking plate 8l! as employed in my construction, this cannot result.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my'in'- vention into effect, this is capable of variation and modication without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction setv forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

The combination with a bread slicing machine having a plurality of reciprocating slicing knives and an inclined chute upon which loaves of bread to be sliced are adapted to be moved toward the slicing knives, means providing a guideway for movement of said loaves of broad down the chute, and means for conveying loaves of bread to be sliced to the upper end portion of said chute, of means for successively transferring said loaves of bread from said conveying means to the upper end of the chute comprising a. tiltable plate, means for intermittently tilting said plate, and anti-tilting means including a single blocking plate located adjacent the upper end of the chute and above the same, and in the path of the loaves CHARLES H. PETSKEYES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,131,256 Petskeyes Sept. 27, 1938 2,281,936 Hoppe May 5, 1942 2,292,800 Rose Aug. 11, 1942 2,293,053 Ferenci Aug. 18, 1942 25 2,379,911 Kottmann July 10, 1945 

